Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) Shares Purchased by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA - Free Report) by 21.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,539 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 2,915 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $2,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MAA. Capital World Investors grew its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,636,915 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,025,868,000 after purchasing an additional 2,088,143 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 4th quarter worth $826,562,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,344,862 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $517,015,000 after acquiring an additional 708,125 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,193,188 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $492,421,000 after purchasing an additional 52,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,656,669 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $410,641,000 after purchasing an additional 40,436 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.60% of the company's stock.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

NYSE MAA remained flat at $159.52 during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company had a trading volume of 683,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 737,961. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $126.70 and a 1 year high of $173.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The stock's fifty day moving average is $161.34 and its 200 day moving average is $157.13. The company has a market capitalization of $18.65 billion, a PE ratio of 35.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.79.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by $1.19. Mid-America Apartment Communities had a return on equity of 8.53% and a net margin of 24.03%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $1.515 dividend. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities's dividend payout ratio is currently 135.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MAA. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $163.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Mizuho cut their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $173.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $168.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mid-America Apartment Communities news, CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 4,358 shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.24, for a total value of $724,473.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 324,171 shares in the company, valued at $53,890,187.04. The trade was a 1.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,140 shares of company stock worth $1,142,842. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

About Mid-America Apartment Communities

Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the operation, acquisition, and development of apartment communities. It operates through the Same Store and Non-Same Store segments. The Same Store Communities segment represents those apartment communities that have been owned and stabilized for at least 12 months as of the first day of the calendar year.